Cooper's family ties

Wales scrum-half Gareth Cooper is going to spend the next few days trying to avoid a family gathering - but he suspects his father may hunt him down anyway.

Cooper's parents religiously attend every game their son plays but the Ospreys half-back would have preferred them not to be at Lansdowne Road on Sunday as Wales slumped to a 36-15 defeat.

In a below-par team display, Cooper admitted his own performance was a massive let-down, with too many tackles missed, poor distribution and not enough go-forward.

It was picked up by coach Steve Hansen, so it will certainly have been spotted by Cooper's father.

"He is my harshest critic and as the game was going on I'm sure he was going over in his mind what he was going to say to me," said the 24-year-old.

"I will try to avoid him but I'm sure he will get hold of me somehow."

Cooper was at a loss to explain why a side which continued the impressive form it showed against New Zealand and England during the World Cup against Scotland on the first weekend of RBS 6 Nations action should have capitulated as badly as it did in Dublin.

From the first minute, when Shane Byrne scuttled in for the opening try, Wales were outmanoeuvred in the forwards, blunt in the backs and generally devoid of invention in attack and defence.

The sense of deflation among the expectant visiting support was palpable and Hansen will require all his motivational skills to lift his team for the visit of France on March 7.

"It was hugely disappointing," admitted Cooper. "Ireland got on top from the first whistle and they were dominant throughout the game.

"Our forwards should be giving the backs time and the backs should be giving the forwards a target to aim at. We did neither and we will have to improve in a fortnight."

Ryan Grant displayed some impressive singing skills while on tour with the British & Irish Lions. The full release of Lions Raw will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray from October 28th. Pre-order on Amazon.

This clip featuring Simon Zebo will whet your appetite ahead of the much anticipated release of 'Lions Raw', the official Behind the Scenes documentary of the successful 2013 Tour. Full release on October 28th and available on DVD and Blu-Ray.